Year 3 ~ 2013 OLQP Greystanes

1. Year 3 ~ 2013OLQP Greystanes Learning together for the future

2. Welcome to Year Three • Introducing the Year Three Teaching Team • 3O Mrs Marie Anastopoulos • 3L Mrs Emily Deahm • 3Q Mr Vincent Knight • 3P Mrs Lorena Pessotto • SUPPORT TEACHER • Miss Cheryl Gunter “Our goal is to engage the children in their learning by promoting a collaborative community of learners. All children will be encouraged to achieve their full potential at their developmental stage by making choices in their learning across a range of intelligences. The children will be taught a range of cooperative learning strategies to promote collaboration. The Year Three Learning Team work collaboratively in planning, assessment and teaching.”

3. A Day In Year Three • 9am Class Routines ( Unpacking bags) • Prayer • 9:00 – 11:05am LITERACY • WRITINGText Types, Spelling, Grammar, Handwriting • READINGShared Book, Comprehension, Readers Circle • 11:35- 12:05 RELIGION • 12:05-1:05pm MATHEMATICS • 1:45-3:05 pm INTEGRATED LEARNING incorporating • HSIE, Science & Technology, PDHPE, Creative Arts • Technology is incorporated into all Key Learning Areas

4. How is Mathematics taught in Year Three? • Children are given a variety of learning experiences involving concrete materials so they can move from concrete to abstract understandings. eg base 10 material, calculators, dice, 3D shapes, tape measures. • We use challenging real life problems that are open ended in nature eg. How many ways can you represent the number 3605? The answer may be represented by materials, a problem posed by the student, symbols, words, pictures. • eg. How many days have you been alive? Use of calculator, internet, calendars. • There is a focus on children’s thinking and strategies not just the answer. • There is a focus on mental strategies eg. 35 + 44 = 30 + 40 + 5 + 4 =79 eg. 75 - 32 = 75 - 30 = 45 and then 45 - 2 = 43 • There is group work, partner work and peer tutoring. • There is reflection and sharing time to discuss strategies and mathematical thinking.

5. How will my child’s needs be catered for? • Assessment will focus on various areas of the curriculum such as writing skills and strategies, reading skills and strategies, handwriting formations and pencil grip, number formations, number concepts and speaking and listening skills. These observations will be part of our ongoing assessments of the children. • Our observations of the children will allow us to cater more specifically to particular needs across the grade. • All children’s work will be sighted and verbal feedback given. Every error may not always be corrected as too many corrections can give children the negative message that they “get everything wrong”

6. Children as the Centre of learning • In Year Three, focused observations and assessments allow us to plan for the children’s learning. • Each class teacher conducts their own assessments to gather vital information and observations about each individual child. • Assessments conducted via-Peer, Self, Anecdotal, Teacher Directed e.g. Running Records NAPLAN Tuesday 14th-Thursday 16th May ( Term 2 Week 3 )Tuesday morning Language Conventions for 40 mins (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation)Tuesday after recess Writing for 40 mins - Persuasive Text TypeWednesday Reading for 45 mins ( comprehension, higher order thinking, visual literacy )Thursday Numeracy ( Mathematical thinking processes )The assessment involves Multiple Choice, Short Responses and Extended Responses

7. Reporting • In Year Three, the children are allocated grades on an E to A scale in accordance with government guidelines. • E- Elementary Achievement, experiencing difficulty and requires support to complete tasks • D- Basic Achievement - working towards grade level • C- Sound Achievement - achieving at grade level. • B- High Achievement - achieving beyond grade level • A- Excellent Achievement -achieving well beyond grade level • The majority of children will achieve a C grade which is considered working at grade level. • The Half yearly report is based on the first half of the year. • The End of year report is based on the second half of the year. • The grades are given to children based on assessment tasks, class contributions and observations of their day to day learning. • Assessment tasks are analysed using rubrics and criteria.

8. Religious Education • Religious Education is the core of teaching in Catholic Schools. In the Parramatta Diocese we follow the Religious Education Curriculum called Sharing our Story which is based on stage outcomes and key concepts in seven major content areas in the Primary school. These key concepts are: • 1. God 4. Sacraments • 2. Jesus 5. Scripture • 3. Church 6. Christian Life 7. Prayer • The development of faith is through reading, interpreting and applying the Gospels to our lives. Picture books are integrated into the Religion lessons that tell stories about life, people and values. Children relate to these stories and apply them to their faith development. Prayer, mass, liturgies and the receiving of the sacraments are how we celebrate, live and give thanks for who we are as members of our Catholic faith community. Though Religion is explicitly taught through formal Religion lessons, Gospel values underpin the entire school day. • Parents are always welcome and encouraged to share our religious celebrations of masses and liturgies.

9. Religious Education New initiative-The Angelus • Praying the Angelus • Schools in the Parramatta Diocese will pray the Angelus at noon daily to join in the beautiful tradition of prayer as a sign of ‘unity, reverence and dignity.’ • The Angelus is a simple prayer recalling the Incarnation-the gift of God’s Son-and dates back to the 12th Century with St Anthony of Padua encouraging the practice of reciting the Hail May three times a day. It was in the 16th century that the form of the Angelus known today with the ringing of the bells was fixed. The ringing of the bells is more than a call to prayer, they represent the prayer itself. Three bells ring throughout each of the three verses with nine bells throughout the final prayer.

10. Parent / Teacher contact • If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, the first thing to do is to speak to your child’s teacher directly. Either send in a note, ring the office or drop in and see us before or after school. • Please write absent notes upon your child’s return to school for legal reasons. • Throughout the year we will be calling for parent volunteers for excursions or to help in the classroom. If you would like to become an active member of the Year Three Learning Community, please make sure your Child Protection Training is up to date. This training is now available online.

11. Reading • At Our Lady Queen of Peace in 2013, reading will be an important focus for learning in the class. As each child is a unique individual, their progress in reading will vary. We are aiming for each child to improve their knowledge and skills in reading at their own pace. • Just as a child has achieved one learnt skill or strategy, there is always the next step to move towards. From the time children are born, they achieve particular milestones such as crawling, walking and talking at different times to others. Keep this in mind in regards to your child’s learning at school. For example, with Reading, there is no magical moment when a child learns to read. It is different for all children! Avoid comparing your child’s reading level to that of another child in the class. The levels are there for the purpose of the teachers, as a guide to the strategies that need to be taught at that developmental level. Texts are given that are an Instructional reading level so the child can read it independently. • As children read more challenging texts, our focus moves away from decoding to comprehension and higher order thinking tasks. By this stage, most children read with accuracy using a range of strategies, so hence levels do not change as quickly as the content of the text becomes more challenging.

12. Homework The Homework Grid • The Homework Grid is a way of enabling students to do something at home and NOT opt out of family life • Homework needs to incorporate activities that will provide life skills as well as academic skills to cope with life beyond school and beyond home • Also covers areas such as reading, being read to, playing a game with parents, research on the computer, music practice and many more • 2 Week cycle

13. How Can I help my Child at home? • Listen to your child read, encourage them to also read silently for an extended period of time. Ask your child to retell what they have read. Children who are read to from the earliest age and those who enjoy recreational reading are usually very effective learners. Provide a variety of texts for your child to read to you such as stories, comics, poems, plays, magazines, cartoons, recipe books. • Play games together - card games, computer games and discuss the mathematical ideas that can be used to play. Cook together look at measurements, digital time, analog time also fractions when cutting up a cake. Encourage your child to use money, visit the local shops together and look at best value for money. • Encourage them to become independent with their homework. Establish a routine for completing the homework. The children will have a two week period to complete the homework. Just be mindful that the spelling really should be completed each day, rather than all at once. The rest of the homework could be completed at their own pace.

14. How Can I help my Child at home? • Foster good relations between home and school, children tend to do better at school when they see their parents and teachers supporting each other and sharing common expectations. • PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!!! Self confident children tend to do well. Tell them how great their work is. Have high but realistic expectations. Encourage them to try their best and build their confidence. Make them feel great about their achievements! • Have a policy on how much time is given to the TV and the computer. Ensure that plenty of time is available for play, hobbies, exercise and family conversations. • Aspects of this taken from CEO Parramatta websiteTen Ways to Help Your Child Succeed at School.

15. Student Management • At Our Lady Queen of Peace, all of our teaching is based on the Gospel values of Jesus. • It is imperative as parents that children are taught to respect themselves, each other, teaching staff and the school property if we are to maintain a cooperative Christian community based on Gospel values. We ask that all parents be supportive of school policies in regards to behaviour. • All children are expected to follow the school and class rules at all times. • Any issues your child may have with another child must be dealt with by the school. Please consult your child’s teacher if you have a concern. THANK YOU!